Dad pleads guilty to 2nd-degree murder in scalding death of disabled 14-month-old son (Little Rock, Arkansas)

Dad is identified as JOSEPH DWAYNE JOHNSON.

http://www.knoe.com/home/headlines/-Little-Rock-father-accepts-plea-deal-in-sons-2013-death-290335981.html

Little Rock father accepts plea deal in son's 2013 death

Posted: Fri 10:48 AM, Jan 30, 2015 By: Courtney Collins

A Little Rock man has taken a plea deal in the 2013 hot bath death of his disabled toddler.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KNOE 8 News/AP) - A Little Rock man has taken a plea deal in the 2013 hot bath death of his disabled toddler.

24-year-old Joseph Dwayne Johnson accepted a 40-year prison sentence Thursday for fatally scalding his 14-month-old son. He has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder.

Authorities say emergency medical responders arrived at Johnson's home after receiving a call from the boy's mother, and found the child's skin sloughing off. They say the toddler had second- and third-degree burns covering over 50 percent of his body. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

According to court documents, the boy had unspecified, severe birth defects, forcing him to be hospitalized for the first 13 months of his life and requiring him to have a feeding tube.